


In the Deeps

by minnabird



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Disturbing Themes, Gen, Poetry, The Department of Mysteries' experiments are not always nice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-06
Updated: 2012-03-06
Packaged: 2017-11-13 10:39:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/502628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minnabird/pseuds/minnabird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Buried beneath the floors of the Ministry lies the Department of Mysteries, engaged in its 'unspeakable' activities.</p><p>One man discovers the truth of this descriptor, to his horror.</p><p>This poem was inspired by the song 'Severus and Lily' from the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II soundtrack.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the Deeps

I.

In the deeps, below, below,  
Far beneath the well-trod floor,  
There no man shall go, shall go  
Who hath not the secret lore.

I am man, Unspeakable; I walk in secrets, silence kept.  
I stand alone, and sneaking, sly, I set my sights on mysteries  
That wiser men have wished forgot; where they have walked, woman wept  
And father howled and brother hated. Horror, yes, but deeply hid,  
A shadowed web discovered slowly, creeping whilst the spiders slept.

II.

On Hoy it was I had my home and hued my natal cry;  
I gadded o'er its golden glens and green and grassy hillsides,  
And passed many a pleasant hour under its pearly sky -  
I fancied all its secrets mine, its shadowed nooks explored,  
But Granda's cottage held much more than ever met the eye.

O'er the deeps below, below  
Stands a strong and stalwart house.  
Wild winds do blow, do blow  
With salty spray the cliffs to douse.

Whispers wormed like winter wind through the house's cracks,  
Spilling through its dusty spaces, soaring to its spire.  
Its mysteries were manifold, with marvels - massive tracts -  
In stories spoke full stealthily, with sharp and searching eyes:  
Of ferlies found by faceless men, fantastic facets cut from facts.

In the deeps below, below,  
Hidden 'neath their smiling eyes,  
Granda sought to show, to show  
Where secret knowledge lies.

III.

When I began I wanted bracing breaths of buried air;  
I came to them a callow man, a captivated convert.  
Delving deeper, I discovered dreadful deeds done there;  
Under shroud of circumspection, oh, what sins are sanctioned.  
I met with monstrous measures there, more the more I bared.

In the deeps below, below  
Farther still descended,  
I would come to know, to know  
Why Granda's life was ended.

The floorboards of that labyrinth with bitter blood are soaked.  
Strange spells were tested there, Squibs and sinners dragged  
Into deep dungeons where their magic was dissected and revoked,  
and given unto hopeful gulls who longed to be full-magicked.  
Thirty twisted, tattered souls - 'twas for them that Granda spoke.

O'er the deeps below, below  
Gather clouds with thunder filled;  
Direful winds shall blow, shall blow,  
Keening for the man they killed.

**Author's Note:**

> This has been nominated for Best Poetry in the 2012 Quicksilver Quills Awards on MNFF.


End file.
